Tag Archives: Technic

Lego in Lock-Down

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With less than a week to go in TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition we have three more alternate builds to share, each of which has made the shortlist to win an awesome SBrick Plus Pro Pack!

First up (above) is a B-Model from one of LEGO’s newest sets, the 42111 Fast & Furious Dom’s Dodge Charger. Built by Matt Walker aka cleansupgood, this excellent prototype endurance racer features working steering, a mid-mounted flat-8 engine driven by the rear wheels, front and rear suspension, and an opening engine cover. Matt let us know about his competition entry via Facebook and there’s more to see of his 42111 B-Model on Bricksafe via the link above or on Flickr here.

Today’s second competition entry comes from Kieran Gutteridge who is making his TLCB debut with his 42093 alternate off-roader. Using only the parts found within the official LEGO Technic Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 set, Kieran’s off-roader features a working inline-4 engine, rear suspension (cunningly using a flexible axle from the donor set), and working steering by both ‘Hand of God’ and the steering wheel. Head to Kieran’s photostream by clicking here to see more!

Today’s third and final entry is also the work of a newcomer, 13 year old Ondra Chlopcik, whose father let us know about his entry. Using the parts from the 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS set which has been chosen a few times in the competition so far, Ondra has crafted this brilliantly accurate Porsche 918 Cayman GTS, complete with opening doors, hood and trunk, a removable ‘convertible’ roof, a 6-cylinder engine and a two-speed gearbox.

There’s more to see of Ondra’s excellent 52056 alternate on his publicly available Google drive, and if you’d like to enter your own B-Model into the competition you have until June 30th to upload your creation. You can do so on Flickr, Eurobricks, or Brickshelf (or any other freely available platform if you let us know where we can find it!), and you can read the competition rules by clicking here.

LEGO Technic H2 2020 | Set Previews

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Summertime is here at TLCB Towers, when skirts get shorter (the pedestrians outside, not TLCB staff), it doesn’t get dark until 10pm, and a select group of Elven ‘volunteers’ are fired over the walls of The LEGO Group’s HQ tasked with bringing back the second half of the year’s new Technic sets.

Those that successfully dodged LEGO’s guard dogs (who surely look forward to this biannual event), have returned with their finds which – thanks to the magic of the internet – we can share with you today! So here they are; the three brand new for H2 2020 LEGO Technic sets…

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42112 Concrete Mixer Truck

The first new addition to the Technic line up is an interesting one, being hefty eight wheel concrete mixer truck that adopts Technic’s recent more detailed aesthetic and includes a brand new bespoke mixing drum piece. Whether this giant single part is a welcome addition or is at odds with the very point of LEGO is open to debate, but the model itself does look rather excellent, with almost Model Team levels of detail yet also retaining decent Technic functionality.

The front two axles offer mechanical steering via a roof mounted gear, whilst that new mixing drum can rotate either as the truck is pushed along or via a gear on the side, allowing it to ‘unload’ its contents all over the kitchen floor. 42112 also adds a few more dark blue pieces to range, with its attractive colouring enhanced with a few neat decals, and it’s expected to cost around €100 when it reaches stores in August.

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42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey

The second set to join the 2020 Technic line-up is as interesting as the first, and it adds another officially-licensed partnership to LEGO’s impressive list to date. It’s also a partnership we never expected, as this awesome looking tilt-rotor aircraft is based on the real (and amazing) Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey.

LEGO have dabbled with tilt-rotor aircraft only once to our knowledge, back with the 8082 Multi-Model Control set from 1993 (come to think of it, why don’t LEGO make multi-model sets anymore? They were great), making 42113 one of the most unusual and original Technic sets in years.

It’s also the first set to feature LEGO’s new ‘Powered Up’ battery box, which when combined with the ‘Powered Up’ Motor drives the set’s two rotors and (we hope) the tilting mechanism that converts the V-22 Osprey from helicopter to plane. An opening cargo door and working landing gear also feature, as do a few orange panels to break up the military grey.

42113 will place towards the top end of the Technic range upon its arrival (although the mid-point definitely seems to be shifting upwards), is aimed at ages 10+ (as per the 42112 Concrete Mixer Truck above), and is estimated to cost around €130 when it reaches stores later this year.

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42114 6×6 Volvo Articulated Hauler

The final new addition to the 2020 line-up is another complicated and expensive set, meaning that all three of LEGO’s H2 sets cost upwards of €100. 42114 sits at the top of the trio, costing an enormous €250. It is itself rather large though, which helps off-set some of that eye-watering cost, and it brings an old favourite back to the range; Volvo Trucks.

Often the ‘B-Model’ (which is ironic, as all three of the new sets don’t seem to offer a B-Model at all), articulated haulers have appeared a few times in the Technic range, but never on this scale. The 42114 6×6 Volvo Articulated Hauler is huge, and packed with LEGO’s latest components, chief amongst which is the Control+ bluetooth brick, which enables the set to be operated remotely via a mobile phone or other bluetooth device.

42114 includes three of LEGO’s new ‘Powered Up’ motors, which deliver the all-wheel-drive, articulated steering, and power the massive linear actuator-driven tipping bucket. High levels of visual realism are present once again, with the set enhanced by both accurate decals and a level of detail that was only present on Model Team sets not that long ago. It’s an impressive combination, and one that has created a set that looks to be both a fine display piece and gloriously playable. But it still looks mightily expensive…

42114 is aimed at ages 11+ and joins 42112 and 42113 in stores later on this year. Better start saving. A lot!

Panigale Pieces

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LEGO have a history of making incredible life-size replicas of both real-world vehicles and their own sets. This is their latest creation, and it’s a little different…

LEGO’s new 42107 Technic Ducati Panigale V4 R set joined the range earlier his year, and to celebrate the two firms’ collaboration they have worked together to create this; a fully working Ducati Panigale V4 R with a faring built entirely from LEGO Technic beams and pins, with no glue, no supporting structure, and no CAD.

Certified LEGO Professional Riccardo Zangelmi spent 400 hours creating the Ducati’s brick-built faring, using an estimated 15,000 Technic parts. The completed motorbike weighs 180kg (that’s the LEGO bricks and the real Ducati Panigale platform underneath them), and was unveiled at the Modena circuit in Italy by Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso.

It’s quite a cool looking experiment, and if you’d like to read more about the official 42107 Ducati Panigale V4 R set, LEGO’s first collaboration with Ducati, you can check out our set preview via the link in the text above.

My Other Crane’s a Telehandler

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LEGO’s slightly uninspiring Technic 42108 Mobile Crane set has certainly proved, er… inspiring, with several awesome B-Models being built from it for TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition. Joining previously blogged 42108 alternates like this roll-off container truck and this rotator tow truck, Brickshelf’s mpj has constructed this fantastic JCB telehandler.

With a wealth of mechanical functionality mpj’s B-Model is every bit as technical as the model from which it’s derived, and includes working stabilisers, boom elevatation, extension and fork tilt, all-wheel-steering, and a rotating superstructure. It’s a brilliant build, showcasing both why LEGO is such an incredible toy and the reason why we started this contest; to use what you have to make something new. And awesome.

There’s much more of mpj’s 42108 B-Model competition entry to see on Brickshelf, and there’s still time to enter your own B-Model into TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition; click here to read the competition rules and see how to enter.

B-Model Bussing

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We’re in the final two weeks of TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition, where you could win an incredible SBrick Bluetooth Control Pack! Hoping to do just that is Davide Bersia, with his superb Technic city bus, built only from the parts found within the 42098 Car Transporter set.

Featuring working steering, suspension (cleverly re-using the donor set’s rubber pieces), a working rear-mounted V6 engine, and mechanically operated opening doors, Davide’s 42098 alternate is both unusual and brilliant. Davide has also made building instructions available too, so you convert your own 42098 set into this bus at home. Click here to head to Flickr to find out more!

YouTube Video

Brick Dominance

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The 2019 Formula 1 season belonged to Mercedes-Benz. As did 2018. And 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014. This year of course, who knows, seeing as we should be approaching the mid-season break and the Championship is yet to start, thanks to the virusy dick that is COVID-19. It’s hard to see it being anything other than another Mercedes whitewash when it does start though.

Still, whilst they may seem like an all-powerful dominant force now, it’s worth remembering that the Mercedes-AMG F1 team came out of the defunct Honda F1 team that first became Brawn, who rose from the ashes to win the World Championship in their debut year (whoops, Honda), in part thanks to Mercedes giving them an engine to enable them to run.

This excellent Technic recreation of the title-winning 2019 Mercedes-AMG W10 comes from Mane of Eurobricks, who’s made instructions available too so you can have your own Championship-winning Formula 1 car at home! Mane’s 1:8 model features a working V6 engine, functioning steering and suspension, a removable front wing, engine cover and HANS device, plus an operational DRS on the rear wing.

There’s more of Mane’s Technic Mercedes-AMG W10 to see via the link above, including full build details, further images, and that all-important link to building instructions.

When 2 Become 1*

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BMW’s stunning i8 is soon to be retired. A three-cylinder Mini Cooper engine and electric motors delivered kinda super car performance with kinda supermini economy. Except it didn’t really do either of those things. But it did look great.

Also looking great is James Tillson’s Technic version, built from the parts found within the 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS and the 42093 Chevrolet Corvette sets. James’ model features working steering and suspension, a three-cylinder engine, gearbox, and the option to add an electric motor to drive the front axle.

Whilst not qualifying for TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition as it’s made from two LEGO sets, James has already entered the contest with another build (also derived from 42056), and you can build a qualifying competition entry from two official LEGO sets, provided each set’s RRP was under $25 at launch.

There’s more to see of James’ excellent B-Model at the Eurobricks forum and on Flickr, the former of which where you can also find a video demonstrating the model’s features and a link to building instructions if you’d like to turn your own Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Chevrolet Corvette sets into a BMW i8 too.

*Today’s title song. We’re nothing if not diverse…

EXP.SUV

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As regular readers of this muddy puddle in the corner of the internet’s parking lot will know, we’re not fans of pointless, gargantuan, ‘assertively’ styled SUVs. With some kind of arms race underway, they just keep getting bigger and uglier. This one nearly made us throw up.

However, in a move that is either deeply hypocritical or some kind of counter-cultural protest, we do like proper off-roaders. Land Rover Defenders (not this one though), Mercedes-Benz G-Wagons (not this one though), Toyota Hiluxes and so forth are marvellous machines unencumbered by status and a radiator grille the size of Disneyland Paris.

Which is probably why we rather like this ‘EXP.SUV’ by TLCB favourite Horcik Designs. Planetary hubs, long travel suspension, and a winch make this the real deal, whilst a LEGO Buggy Motor hooked up to a BuWizz bluetooth battery make it surprisingly quick. It certainly caught a few inattentive Elves unawares when it came rampaging through their cage room. Best of all though, it’s not got a luxury badge on its hood and Tarquin and Olivia in the back being transported between the gates at the school to the electric ones at their house, less than 1/2 a mile away.

There’s more to see of Horcik’s ‘EXP.SUV’ on Flickr and at the Eurobricks discussion forum, plus you can also watch a video of it in action where it belongs – off-road – below. Click on the links above to take a look whilst we take the BMW X7 to pick up Tarquin and Olivia from school…

YouTube Video

 

Challenge Accepted

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We have a very happy Elf here in TLCB Towers today. Not only has it earned a meal, and a yellow Smartie (due to the yellowness of its find), it also managed to use the model it found to squash a fellow Elf. Only one, but that’s better than none if you’re one of our smelly little workers. It required some ingenuity to do it too, seeing as the model it found is on the slow side, but we won’t detail its methods here as we suspect some of the Elves are learning to read.

The find in question is this enormous fully remote controlled Challenger MT965E tractor, controlled via bluetooth thanks to a third-party BuWizz battery and with a suite of Power functions motors. An XL Motor drives all four wheels (making it appropriately slow, hence the lone squashee), whilst the MT965E’s articulated steering is delivered by two linear actuators driven by an L Motor. There are manual locking differentials, a working V12 engine, a Medium Motor powered rear hitch, and an L Motor driven rear power take-off.

All of that makes newcomer mktechniccreations’ creation seriously impressive from an engineering perspective, plus it looks super accurate too, with its excellent action to detail enhanced by realistic custom decals. There’s more to see of the Challenger MT965E at mktechniccreations’ Bricksafe folder and at the Eurobricks forum, where you can also find a link to building instructions and a video of the model in action.

T’was a Telehandler

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There are three weeks to go in TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition and there have been so many brilliant entries so far! Eurobricks’ Tomik has entered several builds in the hope of bagging an awesome SBrick Plus Pro Pack, with his latest B-Models both coming from the parts found within the 42061 Technic Telehandler set.

An off-road buggy with working steering and a mid-mounted piston engine, and a light helicopter with simultaneously turning main and tail rotors are the products of Tomik’s ingenuity, and there’s more to see of both creations by clicking here, where you can also find a link to building instructions if you’d like to rebuild your own 42061 Telehandler set too!

My Other Truck’s a Crane

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LEGO’s seemingly endless supply of yellow Technic cranes continues with the new 42108 set released this year. Whilst the yellow eight-wheeled crane formula has been done to death, the 42108 set does include instructions for a more interesting B-Model, that being a heavy duty forklift that’s far more original than the main model it shares its pieces with.

However you guys are using TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model Competition to do even better, first with the brilliant 42108 roll-off container truck published here last month, and now with this; newcomer oficinadelegodoandre‘s excellent rotator tow-truck, also built only from the parts found within the 42108 set.

A fully working rotating crane complete with a linear-actuator operated boom lift and working winch is the centrepiece of Andre’s alternate, whilst functioning stabilisers plus front and rear axle steering feature too.

There’s more to see at Andre’s ‘42108 B-Model’ album on Flickr via the link above, and you can read the competition rules and find out more about the prizes by clicking here!

Lego in Lock-Down

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Lock-down is easing here in TLCB’s home nation, but for many of you it’s still very much in force. Plus it’s not like Coronavirus has gone away, so we fully expect it to return, with the world watching on in horror, like a second Trump presidency.

However you guys have been busy during your time indoors, utilising your existing LEGO sets to create new models and maybe bag yourselves an awesome SBrick Plus Pro Pack! We’ve got three blog-worthy competition entries for you today, starting with  David Bersia’s brilliant Formula E racing car, built only from the parts found within the 42093 Technic Chevrolet Corvette.

Being electric the Corvette’s V8 engine naturally makes no appearance here, but Davide’s model does include working steering and a properly good execution of Formula E’s Gen 2 bodywork. Click here to head to Flickr to see more of Davide’s creation, where building instructions and two other Lock-Down B-Model contest entries can also be found.

You don’t need a Technic set to enter TLCB’s Lock-Down B-Model competition though, as our next two entrants demonstrate. On the left newcomer 14sandee has redeployed the pieces from the excellent 75895 Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo set to create his neat single-seat racer, whilst on the right previous entrant Tomik has used the 40171 Friends Hedgehog to construct, er… a hedgecopter? Points for originality with that one!

There’s more to see of 14sandee’s Porsche 911 Turbo B-Model via the link above, and Tomik’s hedgecopter on Flickr and Eurobricks, where he has published some other ingenious B-Model contest entries too…

Teal Kobelco

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Lego don’t produce many teal coloured parts. However the range is increasing, and with a little ingenuity, and maybe a few custom pieces, a complex teal creation can be built, and the results can be – if this amazing Kobelco SK210 HLC excavator is an accurate reflection – pretty special.

Built by Maciej Szymańsk this fully remote controlled tracked excavator is all LEGO, apart from the pneumatic cylinders which are bespoke, matching LEGO’s teal colour and offering far greater reach than official components, and an 11V battery box.

In fact 5.5kgs of LEGO pieces have been used to recreate the Kobelco SK210 HLC, a Japanese excavator which – according to the decals at least – is a hybrid, although how a that works in practice we have no idea. We can’t see much regenerative braking going on and it would likely need about a month to charge up if it’s a PHEV.

Maciej’s creation carries its power on board, thanks to that custom battery, powering LEGO Power Functions motors and a suite of LED lights. The motors drive the tracks, superstructure rotation, and the compressor for the pneumatics, giving the model superbly accurate movements which you can view on YouTube here.

There’s much more to see of Maciej’s incredible build at Eurobricks and at his Kobelco SK210 HLC Flickr album, where you can find the full gallery of imagery including WIP shots, close-ups of the excellent brick-built tracks, and a version that switches the bucket shown here for a set of pincer-y jaw type things that we’re glad the Elves didn’t find. Click the link above to make the teal transition.

What’s the Matter? Chicken!

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There’s clearly one vehicle that’s the most famous from the ‘Back to the Future’ movie franchise, even though it was actually a fairly poor car and one mired in one of the greatest auto industry scandals of all time.

Far less famous, but a far better car, was Marty McFly’s Toyota Pick-Up (that’s all they called it) SR5 in ‘Back to the Future – Part III’, which Eurobricks’ RM8 has recreated brilliantly in Technic form using his previously blogged Toyota Hilux as a base.

An XL motor powers all four wheels whilst a Servo controls the steering, with a third-party SBrick allowing the model to be controlled remotely via bluetooth. Solid axle suspension features front and rear, as do opening doors, hood and tailgate, working LED headlights, plus the model features a removable body and cargo bed.

There’s more to see of RM8’s superb SR5 at the Eurobricks forum by clicking here, and the obligator title reface can be found by clicking these words!

TLCB Lock-Down Competition – One Month to Go!

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We’re half way through TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition!

Whether you’re stuck inside due to that pesky virus thingy, because your streets are burning after another senseless killing of an unarmed black man by a white police officer, or even if you’re not locked-down at all, we want you to build something new from what you already have.

That’s the joy of LEGO, and it also rails against the consumerist throw-away nature of society. Oh, and you can win an awesome SBrick Plus Pro pack and bring programmable bluetooth remote control to your creations!

We have three more blog-worthy competition entrants to share today, so without further pre-amble, on to the contestants…

First up is Pauls Technic‘s ‘concept racer’, constructed only from the parts found within the 42022 Technic Hot Rod set. Looking like a cross between a sand rail, short track racer, and an Indy car, Paul’s alternate includes working steering, a mid-mounted V4 engine, opening cabin roll cage, and an adjustable rear wing. Head to Eurobricks via the link above to check it out!

Next we have Jan Geurts‘ 31046 B-Model, the ‘Jeebuggy’; a mix of… you guessed it, a Jeep and a buggy. Which looks rather fun. You don’t need a giant set with which to create your B-Model (although you certainly can use one of LEGO’s most enormous sets should you wish), and Jan’s model gets right to the heart of the competition by creating something new out of a standard and unremarkable LEGO set. See more on Flickr.

Our third mid-point entry comes from previous bloggee (and a previous entrant into TLCB Lock-Down Competition) Serge S, who has redeployed the pieces found within the 10252 Creator Volkswagen Beetle set to create this beautifully presented muscle car. Opening doors, hood and trunk all feature, as does a detailed interior and engine bay, and there’s more to see of Serge’s excellent alternate at his photostream via the link above.

If you’d like to enter your own alternate and be in with a chance of winning an SBrick Plus Pro Pack take a look at the competition details by clicking the link below, familiarise yourself with our Submission Guidelines, and submit your B-Model before the end of June!

TLCB Lock-Down B-Model Competition Details